


Family Matters

by Beloved_nalla



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Children, M/M, Other, Stubborn Dwarves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-01
Updated: 2014-08-01
Packaged: 2018-02-11 09:11:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2062353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beloved_nalla/pseuds/Beloved_nalla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The company visits Bilbo years after the Battle of Five Armies and thinks that Frodo is Bilbo and Thorin's child.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Family Matters

**Author's Note:**

> This was a requested fic. Let me know what you think :) Enjoy!

Bilbo was pulling weeds in his garden when his nephew, Frodo, ran up the hill.

“Uncle, there are dwarves at the door,” Frodo said in a rush. Bilbo laughed at his nephew’s reaction to their company, although it was unexpected company once more.

_Just like old times_ , Bilbo thought to himself.

“Did you let them in?” Bilbo chuckled. Frodo nodded.

“Well I suppose it is time for tea then,” Bilbo said, standing and dusting the dirt off his trousers. He and Frodo made their way to the hobbit-hole where the company of Thorin Oakenshield waited. Gandalf happened to be missing from this particular visit, but everyone else was present besides Thorin. It wasn’t a surprise though since he had perished in the Battle of Five Armies. Bilbo had struggled with the loss of his great friend for a time, but when he had to take on the responsibility of raising Frodo on his own he had to put the past behind him, no matter how hard it was.

Bilbo greeted each dwarf in turn before heading off to the kitchen to get tea started. He knew that he would probably need to restock his pantry after this visit, but he had Frodo to help at least. It had been many years since he had last seen the dwarves of Erebor and he did not want them to rush off only after getting there.

Balin had made his way into the kitchen with the hobbit, leaving the other dwarves with Frodo, hammering him with questions about his life in the Shire and also telling him tales of adventures.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Balin began. Bilbo turned, looking at the dwarf, confused.

“Tell you what exactly?”

Balin pointed toward the den where the dwarves were with Frodo. “That you and Thorin had a child.”

Bilbo’s eyes widened and he shook his head. “We didn’t have a child. Frodo is my nephew.”

“Don’t lie to me, Bilbo. He looks a lot like Thorin and he acts very similar.”

“Frodo is head strong. He has grown up living with me and learned a thing or two about it, but he is not Thorin’s child.”

Balin looked displeased and Bilbo wondered if the dwarf believed him. Thorin had only ever been a friend to Bilbo and the hobbit wasn’t sure where they got the idea that there had been something more between them. Balin made his way back into the den leaving Bilbo alone in the kitchen to take care of the food.

~

Later that night the dwarves had gathered together to discuss Frodo.

“He has to be Thorin’s son,” Balin stated. “He is just like Thorin used to be.”

“How do we know though? It’s not like Bilbo is admitting it. He claims that Frodo is his nephew,” Dwalin added.

“Are we really sure that something went on between Thorin and Bilbo in the first place?” Kili asked, wondering if Bilbo was actually telling them the truth. Bilbo’s explanation was logical, especially if he and Thorin were only friends during their time together.

“Of course something happened between them,” Balin said. “We all saw the way Thorin looked at Bilbo; wanting more of the burglar than what was required of him in the contract.”

Each dwarf nodded his agreement, but they still wondered why Bilbo would deny his relationship with the dwarf king.

“Could it be possible that Bilbo denies it because of grief? Maybe he thinks that we will try to take Frodo with us when we go back to Erebor.” Fili mused.

“It’s possible,” Balin considered the dwarf’s idea. Eventually they all decided to try and teach Frodo some of the dwarfish culture and just hide it from Bilbo.

~

Bilbo watched as the dwarves crowded around the table for breakfast, leaving the head of the table for Frodo. Bilbo watched in amusement as the dwarves began to treat the young hobbit like royalty. They let him get first pick of the food before it disappeared from the table. Bilbo sat on a stool next to the table and ate his own plate of food that he had made before sitting the rest of it on the main table.

Frodo smiled and listened to the conversation that took place amongst the dwarves, but often glanced at Bilbo as if to ask why he was getting special treatment? Bilbo chuckled to himself, especially when they had a burping contest. Frodo looked shocked at their table manners, but Bilbo was used to it.

After breakfast the company took Frodo outside and tried to teach him to use an ax. Bilbo laughed as Frodo came close to hitting Kili with the hilt. It was most amusing when arrows came into play: Frodo didn’t do too well when he almost took out the window of a hobbit-hole. The dwarves seemed surprised when the hobbit couldn’t master the skills as well. Bilbo had caught on to them trying to teach him their ways and knew that they still assumed that Frodo was Thorin’s son. Bilbo let it go. He knew there would be no convincing them otherwise.

Bilbo went back to his own home when he was sure that the war training was finished. He figured that Kili and Fili would find some mischief to involve Frodo in for a while. Bilbo noticed Balin and Bofur sitting in the den when he entered his hobbit-hole. The two motioned for Bilbo to sit so that they could talk.

“What’s this about?” Bilbo asked cautiously.

“Well we were wondering if you wanted to talk about your loss,” Balin said slowly.

Bilbo raised an eyebrow. “What loss?”

“Thorin, of course,” Bofur added.

Bilbo sighed and shook his head. “I’ve told you. Thorin and I were only friends and nothing more. I’m not sure what gave you that impression that there was more, but you need to let it go. I mourned Thorin for a time because losing him hurt. He was a great friend, but he was only that to me.”

The two dwarves looked at one another before nodding. Bilbo made his way to his room to nap. He had had enough of this talk about a relationship between him and Thorin. He also didn’t want to bring back the grief that he had suffered from the loss either. He let sleep claim him for a while so that he would be lively during supper.

~

“Bilbo, are you alright?” Frodo gazed at his uncle who was sitting at the table nursing a cup of tea.

“I suppose. I forgot how taxing it is to have to fix food for thirteen.” Bilbo pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment.

“They are something, huh?” Frodo laughed.

“You’ve no idea,” Bilbo sighed, shaking his head. He had spent some time thinking about all of the things the dwarves had done when they had arrived. Bilbo wondered if he should let them continue to think that Frodo was Thorin’s child or not. They had been stubborn during his attempts at telling them that Frodo was indeed his nephew, but he wondered if it would hurt to let the dwarves help Bilbo with raising the young hobbit. Bilbo needed a break from everything sometimes and it would be nice to have some help around his home. As he watched his nephew make his way out into the Shire, Fili and Kili at his side, he knew that it was a good decision. Bilbo wanted Frodo to feel like he was a part of a family, even if the family was a bunch of dwarves.


End file.
